December 05, 2011

Satsumas in Ginger-Mandarin Syrup

Directions:
Prep your jars and lids. Evenly divide the segments between the jars. I found that each jar could hold 3 mandarins’ worth of segments. Bring the sugar, ginger juice, peel and water to a rolling boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Discard the peel. Ladle into cans, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Seal and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

My thoughts:

This was a fast, fun recipe to make. I had a huge bag of Satsuma (the really small, flatish mandarins) that I just wasn't getting through quickly enough. I was trying to think of a recipe that would use a bunch when I remembered those little tins of mandarins I'd seen at the store. I've actually never had the store bought variety before (they always looked too sweet with all of that heavy syrup) but I was intrigued. I made a light syrup and added some of the nearly pithless peels and some fresh ginger juice for extra zing. The result is so good! The best part is that the membranes surrounding the slices is so thin, you don't have to supreme them prior to canning, it is super tender and soft. Plus satsumas are seedless and have a thin, loose, easy-to-peel skin so I was able to peel and section all 15 in just a few minutes.

Just imagine how great it will be to eat citrus when it is out of season?

I'm curious how these are tasting now a couple of months later. Other recipes I've seen for canned mandarins say that after a while they taste bitter due to not having all of the pith and membrane removed. Are you finding the same thing? Thanks!

I used clementines (California Cuties) and not satsumas. They had very little pith and the ones I ate were pretty sweet. Do you think it makes a difference to use satsumas rather than clementines? Have you ever used clementines?